Friday, February 16, 2018

SCORE American Small Business Championship...

The public voting round of the SCORE American Small Business Championship is now over. William and I are blown away by the support Allegory Gallery received over the course of the voting. We received 6,855 votes! That truly is incredible and we are humbled by the outpouring of love and support. THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to vote and share about the competition.

I know that I ask a lot of our support network. Each day we put a flag out in front of Allegory Gallery, welcoming visitors and patrons to stop in. Each day we strive to do our best to provide good customer service and offer up unique and interesting items that will appeal to customers. Each day, we hope to create an experience both online and in-person that will leave the world a little bit more beautiful.

I'll admit that even though we put forth a considerable amount of time and energy into making these goals and aspirations manifest each day, somedays we miss the mark. Some days are harder than others and it's hard to rally. Small businesses face an enormous amount of challenges and sometimes those challenges get the best of us. We're not perfect.

But...

We still keep trying.

I start my day off looking through the news. My inner peace is conflicted between staying well-informed and the sinking feeling of dread that can result from such information. But in the end, I want to stay abreast of what's happening and often times I find inspiration in unlikely places. So, I read the news. When I read about so many tragedies... so much loss and grief, it breaks my heart.

In the grand scheme of things, what we do is complete confection. It's the icing on the cake. But, I'd like to think that it's more than that. When the world is filled with so much hurt, it is art and how we express ourselves that help offset the anguish. It won't make the world all better. It's not going to solve all the problems, but it helps.

So while we may not succeed every day, we keep trying. While the little things might not answer all the big questions, they help. And what is life, but a struggle to keep going? To be more than what we were the day before? To make the world better, little by little.

I started this post with the idea that I would thank people for voting for us in a small business competition. And while there is gratitude for that... there is more. There is a deep appreciation for allowing us this gift – to do what we do and to keep trying to be better each day. Thank you for allowing us to help in the way we can by small degrees. Thank you for letting us be apart of your lives.

In regards to contest, there's a long way to go before the winners are announced. Whether or not we win, know that the gratitude for your support is there. Will we win? Maybe. We've done our best and put ourselves out there. Will we lose? Maybe. Either way, we tried and will keep trying. William and I feel like winners by being allowed to continue serving our community and creating beauty in the world. We are so fortunate and it amazes me each day.

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About Me

Andrew Thornton is a professional fine artist, writer and jewelry designer who lives in small town Pennsylvania. His work can be seen in private collections around the globe. He is a regular contributor to books and magazines. Andrew is also the Creative Director of Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, PA.

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